WASHINGTON — Police are searching for a suspect who attempted a violent early-morning attack on an officer with an ax Friday.

According to Gwen Crump, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police Department, a man armed with an ax attacked an officer shortly after 3 a.m. Friday. Crump said the attack was unprovoked. The officer was not struck by the weapon, however, he was injured while trying to disarm the suspect.

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As of now we have a general lookout for a black male, 6'-1" to 6'-2" with a stocky build. We have several leads that we are following up on at this point, but the investigation continues."

Crump says the unidentified officer was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The ax was recovered at the scene.

The attack comes a week after Muslim extremist Zale Thompson, 32, attacked two New York City officers with a hatchet. Thompson was killed by officers Oct. 23 after he hacked rookie Kenneth Healey, 25, in the head.

An officer with Washington's Metropolitan Police Department came under an unprovoked attack Friday from a man wielding an ax, police said, the second such attack in two weeks that is prompting warnings and new protocols to officers on the job.

The attack, and another last week in which a man attacked four New York City officers with a hatchet in Queens, prompted an immediate increase in security for officers in both D.C. and New York. The New York Police Department said in a memo: "Police Officers on patrol should maintain a heightened level of awareness."

The attack in Washington occurred around 3 a.m. as the officer was sitting in his marked squad car in Washington's Brookland neighborhood, near the campus of Catholic University of America, police said.